Train at the Aussie gym owned by a Super Bowl champion

After winning the Super Bowl in 2013, former NFL player Brendon Ayanbadejo expected to have some downtime when he left the sport.

However, his wife had other ideas. She signed him up for an Orangetheory fitness class, and he's never looked back.

"I fell in love with it. The work out made me feel good, but it also made me move," the former Baltimore Ravens player told Coach.

"That wasn't on my agenda, I just wanted to rest, relax and recover. But it got me moving again, and it got me enjoying moving, and moving pain free."

The 41-year-old soon opened his first Orangetheory gym in Los Angeles, quickly expanding to open nine more studios across California.

Now, he's set his sights on Australia, opening his first studio in the Melbourne CBD alongside former NRL player Dan Conn.

Brendon Ayanbadejo and Dan Conn. (Supplied)

"Melbourne is very similar to Santa Monica in Los Angeles," said Ayanbadejo.

"The people are amazing, the food is amazing, and there's a healthy fitness community. We think we can add value to an already amazing culture… and now we're here!"

With 300 members already recruited before their September 1 launch date, the studio is quickly creating an Orange army, with a focus on creating an encouraging environment for all types of people to train in.

"It's a workout, but it really is just becoming so much more because of the community and the team spirit," said Ayanbadejo.

The intensive, one-hour interval based session is designed to raise heart rates and build comradery.

"The hardest part is getting there, but once you get to the studio, the team environment and the atmosphere feels so good that it's a place that you want to be," said the former pro athlete.

“The hour goes by really quickly and you feel supported, you feel motivated, and you feel like you're supposed to be there and you can forget about the world and what's going on outside.”

Ayanbadejo revealed that since becoming a gym owner he exercises a lot less than he did as a football player, but has seen more results.

"I work out less, but my workouts are arguably smarter than they were when I played," he told Coach, adding that he's lost about 8kg doing the Orangetheory workout.

"I only work out four hours a week maximum, but the workouts are designed in such a way that you continue to burn body fat for up to 36 hours. So if I work out every other day, I'm always burning body fat continuously.”

"We want to de-oxygenate the body while training, and if we do that for 12 minutes or more, you're leaving the workout with an oxygen deficit," he explained. "It takes up to 36 hours to get back to equilibrium. To get back to equilibrium you're going to be burning body fat in that window."

Orangetheory keep track of this by using heart rate monitors, which are purchased from the studio, and can be used outside of the gym, with an app to access the data.

Ayanbadejo believes it's the combination of community, hard work and science that make his gym sessions so successful.

"The workout is really scientific, and it's really intelligently designed. But also designed so that everyone can do it," he said.

The California native is planning to open six more gyms in Melbourne, in addition to the 10 Orangetheory Fitness studios currently in operation in South Australia, New South Wales, The ACT and Queensland.